Healy to Congress: Renew International Trade Agreements and Help Wisconsin’s Economy Grow Exponentially

MacIver News Service | March 12, 2014

by Haley Sinklair

[Washington D.C.] Brett Healy, President of the John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy and numerous other CEOs of think tanks across the country are calling on Congress to expand America’s international trade agreements and open up new markets to U.S. exports.

According to a recent Business Roundtable study, the international import/export industry supports over 700,000 trade-related jobs in the global economy here in Wisconsin.

According to the study, each year Wisconsin ships $30 billion worth of goods and services to 210 countries, generating over $32 billion for our state economy.

The Liberty Foundation Coalition is asking Congress to consider renewing the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation. TPA allows a President to negotiate trade agreements with other nations and then submit them to Congress for an up or down vote. Every President since President Franklin Roosevelt was given this authority, until 2007.

Continued stalling on the renewal of the TPA has allowed global competitors to enter into trade agreements that have excluded American businesses and workers, harming the U.S. and Wisconsin economy.

If Congress reauthorizes the TPA, trade and economic activity would grow exponentially. In 2012, America exported 12 times more goods per capita to countries that had trade deals than to countries that did not.

This growth also translates to more jobs in the U.S. and Wisconsin, while consumers gain access to a wider range of low-cost goods.

Healy is asking Congress to immediately renew the TPA so Wisconsin businesses can compete globally on equal footing with their competitors and grow Wisconsin’s economy.

To read the full open letter to Congress click here.